The Cal-look Lounge

End of an era for me, personally. As of March 2013 my '67 has gone in for cosmetic rework. All this kind of started going through my head about 8-9 years ago when I saw the clear on my old paint beginning to cloud over on the roof in a few spots. Earlier this year after taking the car on a hard, grimy run up CA highway 33 up out of Ojai CA, I brought it home and my son Lucas and I gave it a good bath. While towel drying the car, I found the clear had begun to peel from base coat. I knew it was time. Ordered up the PPG Porsche Zenitblau Metallic yesterday...
So a new era begins. After all the miles, trips, passes @ Sacramento, Sears Point and Carlsbad, all the VW events up and down California, all the crazy nights street racing, the car's getting a new lease on life and a new color. I hope the next 24 years are as much fun as the last. Keep you guys posted.

Jim

End of an era for you, and all of us who've lived through your stories. I can't wait to see it, Jim.

sad to see it go like it was but I'm glad you keep a metallic colour!  I love a proper metallic colour cal looker!

Keep the stories flowing!

Thanks for the kind comments, I'm excited about the new color too. As with any re-do, things are snowballing. We'll see how far I can tolerate adding new this and new that. Last thing I want is some prima donna that's afraid to see rain, dust, and miles. Pics to follow once we see some color laid down.

When do ya think the color's going on jim ? Figure out wheel finish ?

Whew... scared me there. When I read the subject I thought you had SOLD it!

Can't wait to see the new paint Jim.

hey Rick.... naw, it's not going anywhere, my kids would hang me, not to mention I couldn't live with myself.
Danny, maybe next week. Not sure on the wheel details yet, but leaning towards the gunmetal we talked about.
Thanks

Looking forward to see the car done with it's new color Jim!  Who is shooting the paint and doing the wet sanding and buff?  Make sure they do it properly with no swirls.  You could always get a 3M clear bra (or whatever they call it nowadays) if you want to prevent rock marks in the front and on the rear fenders, but road rash is just part of having a driver.  After the first 50 you will get over it...hopefully!

Jim, we should all aspire to use our cars so much that we burn through the clear coat and have the front end peppered with chips.  Not to mention more engines than a year's worth of Bernie Bergmann ads.  You and that '67 have been through a lot together.

Legendary.

Wait, a legend can't necessarily be verified, and I know what this car has done.........................

If you change out the glove box, make sure you keep all the time slips, pizza delivery addresses and the bottle opener.

Hey Brandon, local guy here in SF Valley (van Nuys). He's a dream to deal with. Everytime I stop in he shows me something else he wants to address ("I found this crack, you ever see this? You see this wavy spot?") and I say "aww not a big deal, I drive the crap out of this car, no need to- " And he stops me everytime and says "someday you're going to pass this car down to your boys... let's make it right". His heart's in it.
Thanks Dave. Funny when I was ripping the car to pieces last month, I was findng all kinds of junk under the mats, stuffed under back seat, etc. Keeping the orig glovebox, along with the time slips, the map of CA Frank and I used in '89 when we drove to Los Ang from Pleasanton via Highway 1, couple of traffic tickets, dash plaques from Pleasanton Bug Bash, toll receipts for SF Bay bridge, Sonic Youth cassette tape, half a pair of old Ray Bans....

Jim

Is the new blue the same as the other 67 that we dont see nowadays.... but may appear latter ?

Cheers

Russell

Hi Russell
Not even close.  :)

russell , if i'm thinking of the same '67 ,that is/was a Minerva blue

the "other" blue

Looking forward to seeing the re-do. Remember, twice the $$$ budget and three times the time allotted.   :D

Thanks Dave

Here's a test pass my guy did on the license plate light housing, in overcast So Cal lighting 8)

And while you're about it, cut out the parcel tray, throw on a turbo and then decide to put IDAs back on it a few years later...  ;D

PS - cool colo(u)r Jimbo!  8)

Thanks KS 8)

Great color choice Jim! You have got to be excited...

berglar clones ???   there's one in japan

No Speedwell, not same blue.

993 Carrera Zenith Blue. Just need time to put it all back together.

Damn. That looks even better than I would've imagined. Good choice. The right metallic can make a curvy, pre-war-design look fantastic.

thanks dude, appreciate the kind words.  8)

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/YAVE123/drooling_homer_MzY5CNUnEpK4.gif) (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/YAVE123/media/drooling_homer_MzY5CNUnEpK4.gif.html)

You gotta love how many VW and Porsche colors change with lighting ... excellent choice.

VERY Nice!

Look forward to seeing it Jim.. Don't think you really see the true color it is in pictures. But it does look good in pictures.   Dave Rhoads

thanks guys, I'm pretty excited to see the car get a new lease on life after 20+ years of use. It has a whole new look to it. Not quite as subtle. My favorite part about the new color is my 5 yr old boy, Lucas helped me choose it. I'm very happy with the results.
Hopefully it'll be terrorizing the streets in a few months.  :)

what color interior are you going to do with it? I'm going to tug on your Alfa strings and suggest a deeper red/burgundy. One of my dad's more repeated stories is the horror he felt when he saw a dark-metallic-blue Alfa with a red gut on the allocation sheet in the mid '70s. He said it was one of the handsomest cars they ever got and ordered more. Of course it would take the right darker red but I think it has potential. 

If memory serves Porsche used a bone white with colors like that. I bet that would look good too.

funny you brought that up.....  ::)

Jim, that looks REALLY nice! A shame that the old version of the car is no more, but exciting to see the new one!

Can't wait to see it Jim.  The color is beautiful.

Cool to see you got your money's worth Jim... two shades of blue for the price of one! :D
Carlos and I will be over Saturday to help you out with those pesky window slot seals ::) ;D

BRING BEER 8)

Looks cool

That ramp shot looks suspiciously like that other car...And you know, I have always liked your color choice...The color on a 911 looks stud horse.. waiting to see what you end up with.. PS: Grey leather...

Hi Jiim,
Your ride looking good. Can't wait to see it  once the makeover is complete.

Tim

Even with the new color, it still looks like Jim's bug to me. I can't wait to it put back together.

Assembly Party @ Jim's I'll bring the Chips & Salsa!  ;D

I saw some posts on facebook...... Does this mean my bumper are almost ready to ship  ??? ;) :)

Lookin great there Jim!!!

still behind boxes of stuff for this car. I'll let you know when I have time.

That 038F car looks a lot like a Venetian Blue.. which, by the way, would look great with the right shade of blue leather.. And, Jim... white leather.. No. With the driving you do,. you would spend more time cleaning that stuff than you do thinking up new engines...Or replaying Alfa sounds, or Floyd, in your head. LOL.

I have a constant tape loop of Alfa motor sounds and Syd Barrett-esque Floyd playing in my head at all times.  8)
here's a pic of my boy with his future ride, taken last sunny Saturday. Wonder if he's any good at headliners?

Shine on you crazy diamond!

I have a story that links Floyd and Alfa. My folks and I started going to Yurrip at least annually in the mid 1970s. We'd frequently stay at a B&B in Calne that belonged to one of my dad's car-dealer pals. Well he comes back from somewhere all freaked out. As he was fueling up one of the car an Alfa pulled in. Not just any Alfa, either. It was a pre-war race job. He said the guy jumped out, topped off, ran out onto the road to see if anyone was around, jumped back into the car and tore off. My dad said all of this happened in the matter of like two minutes and the driver never paid, only had a quick chat with the station attendant.

He gets back and tells his pal and our host, Ron. He casually remarks something like, "...oh yeah, that's probably Nick." As in Nick Mason. He lived somewhere in Wiltshire.

Years later I bought a Mark Hales book about Nick's collection. There's a '31 8C in it. I showed it to my dad and he went ape all over again. He said it had to be the same car but at the time it didn't have a windscreen or a muffler--he said it was LOUD which might explain why he checked the road before he left. That car ran Mille Miglia numerous times and was the last racecar E Ferrari drove.

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cool story, not only the Nick Mason bit but the fact that was the last racecar Enzo drove.

funny note... a friend of mine and I were joking around... making up silly names for the new blue hue... "I call it Echoes Blue" or "Crazy Diamond Blue"

and a historical note... maybe not that funny... maybe 20 years ago, my friend Sheep and I were at some VW show/drags , being the snide and smug asses we are, waiting in the lanes, just baking (prob Sacaramento). Some obnoxious guy starts jabbering on about his expertise and his car and so on and Sheep's just letting the guy hang himself... and finally the conversation leaves the axis of this guy's self-centric universe and asks Sheep "so what color is this car anyway?" As straight faced as a corpse... Sheep replies "it's called f*ck you blue". I just stared off into space behind my Ray Bans but wanting to die.

I like one of the quotes attributed to Smokey Yunick.. When confronted by a couple of high paid  College degreed guys from Detroit... " Just keep talking, it's not often I get to listen to a genius"   By the way. "San Tropez", or " Any Colour you Like"

That may be more relevant now than ever.

How is Sheep? I'd love to drink beers with that guy some time.

Interstellar Overdrive is a little wordy but.... how about Cymbaline ? ;Dhe's....Sheep.
getting his eyes worked on

For the color tell them it's Maldivian Sapphire from a Zephyr Wombat.

Then tell them the truth. Because people who get cagey about the colors on their cars are douchebags.

interviewing car owner:
Me: Say, what color did you use? It looks a lot like Guards Red.
Owner: Uh, it's a custom mix. I wanted something special.

interviewing the painter:
Me: Hey, the owner said you custom blended the color for him.
Painter: Huh? It's Guards Red--he couldn't make up his mind so he made me pick one.
Me: What a douche.
Painter: Yeah, f*ck that guy. I gave him a dozen free hours and even complained about the bill.

A grey interior would be nice and easier to live with. White is nice but you can get bored rather quickly.

The car looks awesome and you should be good for another 25 years of happy ownership  8)

As someone who shoots interiors for a job I can say this about gray: it's right up there with tan and black as the ultimate "I'm afraid of making a mistake or standing out" choices. That's not to say that a gray, black, or tan interior can't look good; it can, especially with a real polarizing color like red. But there's almost always a color that looks better. You just have to work to find it even if it requires consulting a color specialist.

There's a whole rainbow of colors out there that work if you find one that has common ground with the body color. Two years ago I shot a metallic green car that had an interior about the color of a basketball. Sounds gross, huh? It was pretty awesome. It took a color specialist to make the combo but it's super distinctive and good looking. It's not for every car but it's perfect for that one.

And I'm not making a further case for the bone white but I will defend it by saying it's not white. I have a white interior in a car and I wouldn't wish it on most people. But the bone is a 'dirty' cream that lands at about 15 percent in the grayscale (for reference, stripping the color from green grass on a sunny day yields an 18-percent grayscale). Again, Porsche used/uses that bone color. A major manufacturer won't use a nightmare color for a production car.

Don't be afraid to stand out. Pick the right color and it'll be awesome.

Yup, which is why I went with the 993 color, beyond my 5 yr old picking it. Most everybody I ran it past, before it was actually on the car, raised an eyebrow. But I saw it in my head and stuck with it. And now everybody who has seen it digs it.

I'm actually thinking a color for interior, but that's down the road of freed up $.

So true. IMO, grays and tans are great for a complementary neutral tone, but that's all. There's a reason why so many new cars have all gray or tan interiors, it won't piss anyone off.
I did interiors for a few years, and still do in my spare time. I'm not usually a fan of red interiors, it seems like it's the obvious choice if you're going bold. But with that shade of blue, since I see so much purple in it, I don't think there is a better choice than the proper shade of red for the seats and panels. I can see it coupled with "black" Porsche Haargarn carpet, factory mats, and a charcoal perforated vinyl headliner.

White interiors remind me of Pulp Fiction.

Yeah, consider the car-buying public. According to a recent Forbes piece, "For a second consecutive year, white is the most popular color for new cars, according to the 2012 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report. Black, silver, gray and red round out the top five." People are afraid of committing to things that deviate from the norm.



Red has its place for sure. A really searing red looks fantastic in a white or black '60s car--think A-body GM with buckets, console, and stick. But a bright red can overwhelm another color. There are exceptions, though: in the '20s and '30s Bugatti painted a lot of Type 35s and 37s in national blue and trimmed them with bright-red guts. But I think that darker metallic blue calls for a 'bloody' dark red/maroon--one with a bit of blue in it. The purple overtone is the common ground. A color specialist--think someone with a degree and not just a salesman--would really be worth the few bucks. 


I say proceed with caution if you do a charcoal headliner. A really good trimmer once told me that a dark headliner will make a car feel like a coffin. He's right; I had a black headliner in my car in my '66 and he was installing a camel-colored one in my girlfriend's '70. Once he finished, the contrast between the two cars was extreme--even though the rest of her interior was really dark brown her car felt good to sit in. Mine just felt forbidding.

I could still see a white headliner working in that application. It could really bring out the white ticking in that Haargarn. Plus white was the headliner color of choice from the '60s through the '80s on most Euro cars. A friend of mine has an '80s 911 that has dark-blue interior and a bright-white headliner. It feels almost cheerful inside.



Yeah but a white interior in the RIGHT car has no rival. I just don't want to deal with it myself.
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Actually I just remembered this one. This is a car that Steve's Auto Restoration recently finished. That's a great example of a not-so-safe tan--it's BOLD. Like almost orange. The color is a bit punchier than yours--it's a late Lexus code that I can't remember offhand but it sort of flops red under hard light. I don't know if it would go well with that blue on your car but it's a good example of contrast. I DO NOT recommend light-colored carpets like that unless you drive in your socks or you want to clean them all the time. I don't understand the obsession with light carpets. Ugh.

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sort of off topic, sorry (my topic anyway :P), my good friend is putting his hot rod 914-6 GT together this summer. We're friends so he tends to thumb his nose at conventional opinion too. Anyway, about 5-6 years ago the car went in for paint. He wanted a red, but not Guards, Signal or India Red.
He went with an ox blood "Rossa Barchetta" Italian red (he says it's Alfa, I think it's more a Miura color, by the hue). Anyway his interior color? A dark wedgewood-royalish blue with Perlon carpet. Like Chris has mentioned above, it sounds "off"... but it isn't. he was thumbing through a Miura coffee-table book I have and fell upon an ox-blood (Bull's?) SV, with a similar blue hide interior. It's outtasight.

wow... nice  change :)

getting to talk to that fellow Jim Ratto via pm's  years ago..  he cool


im glad Lucas signed you a permission to change the color on his car  ;D

looks awesome!

The Proud new/future owner  ;) :)

Jim,

The car looks great!  I really like the new color.  I do miss the old blue "Pigsnzen" ride though.  I saw Kevin the other night at the In N Out meet in Pleasanton and he told me you recently painted the car.  I was shocked to hear the news that you changed colors because I remember how much you loved that old blue.  Hope all is well.

Popper

Thanks Jason. Same car, just new color. Yeah I loved the old blue, until I saw this one. The car's taking shape, still hours of work ahead of me (and little free time). But I like the results so far.  8)

I though for sure you'd be mashing your barefoot gas pedal and chirping gears and pulling brodies by now.

...waiting on my nipple caps with knockoffs still  :o

 8)

Progress after some help from my son, Lucas. We got the Setrab cooler bolted back up next to transaxle and finished up getting main harness back into engine compartment.

very nice to see you take care of the car so well in the garage. you even fitted the bumpers so the kids don't run their bike into it. very thoughtful, but on the street you don't need them, T-bars are fine  ;D


 ;) the color looks really good.

 ;D old geeks like me use real bumpers! Helps keep the cops from knowing too much too.

me too  ;) :)

Over two past weekends, got some limited time sorting out wiring harneses to engine. Hard to see in this pic, but that's just a mock up case in there with fan housing propped up so I can get harnesses' lengths dialed in. Main heavy black is stock '67 harness to alternator and stock oil light sensor (black wire which goes to 1.5 isn't used for coil with MSD box- so it's running from switch in instrument cluster to Bosch relay to turn on Setrab fans). The other black harness is instrument sender leads and "white" signal wire from MSD to 010 distributor. The green harness is for Bosch coil terms 1 and 1.5 from MSD box. moved my breather too to bettr clear RH Weber 48. Need to re-powdercoat that decklid latch too.  ::)

Edit Sept 10, (my) motor is in now, to stay, completely wired and mostly plumbed.

looking good jim!!   the 67's retained its character and still breathing new life

interesting :)


you got Pm btw (from days ago lol )

Nice  :)

thanks guys.
here's a pic just before I took the car off the road earlier this year, in it's old color

Really like your color choice !
It fits perfectly on the 67'  ;)

Update... getting closer. Last night my wife and I pushed the windshield into place (yes my wife). Few more simple mechanical "put back together's" and it can go for headliner, then get rest of the glass in. Looking for a VDO 2-1/16" working clock (I have Cockpit style oil temp/pressure/fuel, ditching head temp want to put clock in place. I hear the clock from an old 924 will fit too. )

Can't wait to see it Jim!

I used to have some of the clocks from Rabbit GTIs, but I think they're all gone.  :-\

If I came across one that still had the knob, I always grabbed it.

Almost there. Yesterday I actually hopped in the car, fired it up and prowled down the street to put a couple of gallons of 91 in it. Man it felt good to drive it again, even just down the block and back, sans rear windows and most of the interior. If anything, the lack of any sound barriers made it more fun. I almost forgot how urgent a stroked motor VW is to drive. This coming weekend is headliner/rear glass/rear 1/4's and hopefully the last few bits and pieces and it's done.  8)

Well done, quick turn around!

Thanks Zach. Considering available time to work on the car comes in these short 2-3 hour spurts every few weekends, it took about as long as I kind of predicted. No real nightmares, but this wasn't done as a peel the body of the pan, zinc plate and powder coat every c-clip, etc. Just a refresh and new electrical. It's still my grocery-getter/commuter/weekend therapy machine.

I think that's the best kind, Jim . . . and yours will look awesome doin' it!!!!!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-924-VDO-Clock-477-919-211-Breaking-a-1977-model-/141084018125?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item20d94345cd

If you need a hand getting it let me know, happy to forward on to you

Regards Ron

and Jim if you don't want that clock let me know as I was going to buy it :)

thanks for the link on the clock, I actually have a coworker that has an old 924 one stashed in his garage, so I'm good. Thanks again,

here's an update pic from this past weekend. Almost done.

Congratulations JR... I for one,can appreciate the back breaking effort. The car looks Bitchin'..! This was the color of my first VW, a 1963 but it looks so much better on YOUR car. I can only imagine the smile on your face and the beat of your heart, driving your refurbished prized possesion..!! KUDOS...

It's beautiful, Jim.  Did you put the old parmesan cheese packs and time slips back in the glove box?  If not, put 'em in with a few fuses and some trail mix for the boys.....

GREAT JOB!

D

Looking great! A job well done Jim!

thanks Dave and everybody else. Not only the parmesan cheese packets but also a pair of "My First Binoculars", a coupla kid-drawn road maps (marked with TRANE STATION, JAIL, ICE CREEM, DUMP TRUCK HOUSE) and a how to guide on talking your way out of traffic tickets.

 8)

That's a heart warmer, right there.

I have a "Jet Cockpit" clock if your interested...... Just drop me a pm




P.s any news on the bumpers  ??? ;) ::) :-*

Hi Lee, hopefully next week or so I can get those bumpers down to Stanton for you. It's going to be nice to weed all the VW stuff out of the garage soon (excpet the car).
I'll keep you posted  8)

Jim

looks awesome Jim, great job and you got it done pretty damn fast!  Can't wait to see it in person!

Man! Looks killer! I'm really digging the new color!

Sweet  8)

The car is looking AMAZING by the way  ;) :)

Jim,
Happy that your still after it!
I guess once your bitten by the bug...
Excelent job, car looks GREAT!
Talk to you later,
tw

watsup TW!!! Can you install a line lock light for me?   ;D

Took the car on a decent drive yesterday to Thousand Oaks public library to return some of the kids' books and to grocery store. Ran good. And followed it up with a drive to work in it. Glad to be behind the wheel again. Feels like it could use some more motor though....  ::)

The 1606cc isn't enough for what your doin? 😜
I'm actually just getting back into the VW thing. Finished the chassis tonight.  And got the car off jack stands for the 1st time in 2 years 😳
Your car looks great!
tw

tell me more about your car Tony.... we gotta hook up sometime. Make a memory pass down Clement sometime. I still vividly remember you in Danny's yellow vert cooking the tires off after we got the 2161 going in it.
Thanks for the props on the car. I'm happy and proud of it, and more importantly, the kids dig it. It'll be time to pass the baton before I know it. Need to go through and do a tune on it this weekend.

Hope all is good with you and yours,  8)
Jim

Definitely some good old clement 1/4 mile times  8)
Just the old (10 year project) green street car , now with room for front & rear seats...back halfed, lil 2 litre, water cooled heads, intercooled, E85, & a billet wheeled BFT  :o
Enough thread hijack...pm me your number and I'll give you a call this weekend.
Talk to you later,
tw

this is worthless without pictures!  ;D

I did a secret drive-by last weekend and Ratto's car hasn't moved an inch.  Not only that, it's still the same color!!  WTF??? ;D

Can't trust nobody round here!  :D

finally the motor sorted out, new CD box, new wires, 181 fan housing.

Recaros

Seats & motor look awesome. Car has really evolved over the years.

thanks Bill

it's been a long 30 years this year. I don't regret one minute.

And before I get wisecracks about the 009... yes I have an 010 (a few actually), but my car has always run better once it's on cam with an 009. The 009 runs hands down better, especially now with new Crane CD box doing all the hard work.

Great work. Those Recaros and Schrohts are looking awesome and clean, and fit the car perfectly. I love the "stealthness" look of both them on the interior. Never been a fan of red and yellow material harnesses.

Jim did you have the mounting brackets for the seat custom made? Or do they have them for Beetles?